Sediment provenance during Alpine orogeny: fluid inclusions and stable isotopes on quartz-calcite veins from detritic pebbles

An innovative multidisciplinary approach was used on quartz–calcite veins that crosscut pebbles of several lithologies from the French South Alpine Foreland Basin to discern the source of detrital sediments. Microthermometric results indicate that inclusions contain low to moderate salinity (0.9–9.8 wt% eq. NaCl) fluids. Oxygen and carbon isotope compositions of quartz and calcite (δ18O mean at +24.1 and +24.7 ‰ respectively (V-SMOW) and δ13C from −1.1 to +2.0 ‰ (V-PDB)) are comparable with the composition of their host rocks (δ18O from +17 to +24.3 ‰ and δ13C from −4 to +1.4 ‰). The calculated δ18O and δ13C values of the fluid trapped in quartz and calcite range from +9.3 to +21.9 ‰, and from −2.6 to +4.1 ‰ respectively. These data suggest isotopic buffering of the fluid by the host rocks. Fluid trapping conditions were 105–185 MPa and 175–310 °C. Using a lithostatic gradient, the conditions of fluid entrapment correspond to a depth of vein formation from 4 to 7 km. Petrographic and geochemical data obtained on the host rocks, their veins and fluid inclusions suggest that the source of the conglomerates is the inner part of the Alps rather than reliefs surrounding the foreland basin. The study of fluid inclusions in veins provides a powerful and innovative approach to link the production of detrital sediments with tectonic events, to trace the provenance of conglomerates and to reconstruct the regional geometry of the drainage system.